Mesh a BVH Armature

This entry will show a simple approach to meshing a motion capture armature.  This method lends itself well to an armature that has a nice T-Pose while in Edit Mode.

For this approach, we'll be adding our own mesh to the existing mocap armature.  Since the requirement is have a nice T-Pose in Edit Mode, I found that BVH files at this site T-Posed Mo Cap Links, meet that requirement.

Below is an image of an example armature in edit mode.

Here is an example of a different armature in edit mode.  Note the twisting and rotations.  This is better left to  the BVH Retargeting approach rather than trying to create a twisted mesh.

Since the armature often is in a very different location than the T-Pose while in object mode, to facilitate creating/aligning the mesh according to the T-Pose, I screen cap the T-Pose and use it as a background image.  Background Image in Blender

The image below shows my captured background image behind the skeleton in edit mode (orange).

The position and scale can be adjusted in the [N] properties menu.

The image below shows the background image, and the mocap armature (wireframe orange) in Object mode.  Note how the armature is in a very different location than the background image, but we'll use the background image as our reference for modeling.

Now we can create our character lined up with the armature background image.

Finally, select the mesh, then [SHIFT] select the armature and hit [CTRL+P] to parent the objects, and select With Automatic Weights.  At this point the mesh should be nicely aligned with the armature and will follow the mocap animation.

Example of the mesh tied to the mocap rig.